It is not all that often that something bothers me when it comes to MMA, simply because of how wildly entertaining the sport is. Regardless of the promotion or card, I can normally find joy in every aspect of combat sports. There is, however, one MMA Pet Peeve that grinds my gears and that is when fans — and yes, this applies to journalists too — misspell a fighter’s name.
There’s a reason this is coming up ahead of UFC 257, of course. The big one for me has to be when people spell Conor McGregor’s name incorrectly, most commonly as Connor McGregor. Or Conner. Or MacGregor.
Of course, McGregor’s not the only victim of the irksome crime of misspelling. Ronda Rousey’s moniker might sound as if there’s an “h” in there, but it’s Ronda, not “Rhonda.” Social media, however, often says otherwise, as do a few sporting news websites as well, at least per a quick googling of that variation of her name.
Is it wrong to find this disrespectful? Is it nitpicking? I mean, these fighters put it all on the line each time to either provide for their families or to achieve a lifetime childhood dream. To step under the bright lights for our brief entertainment after training for months, only to have someone spell their name incorrectly, is disappointing.
This might not be as grating were it not for the fact that fighters like Conor and Ronda (or Conner and Rhonda) weren’t at the pinnacle of the sport. Literally the biggest stars in MMA history. Not a first year prospect, but bonafide PPV kings and queens. And those getting their names wrong? Not just outsiders, but those within the MMA realm as well.
Now, there are so many other little things that irritate the MMA fan base besides the misspelling of fighter names. For some fans it’s the bellowing, Rick Flair inspired “woos” that echo throughout the arena at nearly every UFC event. For others, it’s the all too frequent scene of fighters begging Dana White for bonus money during their post-fight interviews (MMA pay in itself is a pet peeve discussion for another day).
But, as we enter UFC 257, the first McGregor fight in over a year — for the love of all things MMA, it’s Conor, not Connor. Poirier, not Poreier. Khabib, not Habib.
Is this just me? Leave your MMA pet peeves in the comments below.
